Forging a new identity
Subtitle: the costs and benefits of diversity in Civil War combat units for black slaves and freemen
By: Dora L. Costa, Matthew E. Kahn.
Contributors: Kahn, Matthew E., 1966-; National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series ;; working paper 11013; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) ;; working paper no. 11013.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- African Americans.
Description: "By the end of the Civil War, 186,017 black men had fought for the Union Army and roughly three-quarters of these men were former slaves.  Because most of the black soldiers who served were illiterate farm workers, the war exposed them to a much broader world.  The war experience of these men depended upon their peers, their commanding officers, and where their regiment toured.  These factors affected the later life outcomes of black slaves and freemen.  This paper documents both the short run costs and long run benefits of participating in a diverse environment.  In the short run the combat unit benefited from company heterogeneity as this built social capital and minimized shirking, but in the long run men's human capital and aquisition of information was best served by fighting in heterogeneous companies"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Title from PDF file as viewed on 1/4/2005.
Also available in print.
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Mode of access: World Wide Web.